Rallies don’t destroy the economy, Bersih tells Rahman Dahlan

Bersih 2.0 resource coordinator says rallies are part of the political process. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, August 27, 2015.

Umno minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan should travel to Western countries to see for himself that street rallies do not bring down the economy, a Bersih 2.0 official said today.

Dr Wong Chin Huat, who is also a political analyst, said that if that were the case, the West would have been bankrupt by now.

"He should keep up with the times, this is the 21st century and rallies are part of the political process.

"If he is saying investors won't come because of Bersih 4, the West would have been bankrupt by now because every week they have protests, big and small.

"So he should visit these countries," Wong, who is Bersih's resource coordinator, said at a press conference today.

Rahman, who is urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister, had hit out at Bersih 2.0 over its decision to hold a mass protest this weekend amid anxiety over the economy, and warned that the rally could cause the value of the ringgit to further deteriorate.

"I urge #Bersih4 to postpone its demo. It will bring more harm to us than benefit, especially to the economy that Bersih wants to protect," Rahman, who is also Barisan Nasional's strategic communications director, had said in a recent tweet.

- TMI